Bar Fights
by Angyll
Summary: Max, Yangus, and Jessica are a bit weary, so they stop in Simpleton. They didn't start it, but they ended up getting in a bar fight.


**(Author's Note: First story I ever managed to upload. I always liked the bar fight in Dragon Quest 8, so I decided to make a short of it. Maybe this will be a teaser for a novelization of the game, but I tend to doubt it. Prehaps I can do it bit by bit and publish it all randomly. Anyway, if you notice my horrid writing style and have suggestions on how to fix it, please, please let me know. I don't want this story to be an eyesore. So reviews and critiques are welcomed. Enjoy.)**

Yangus sighed a bit, moistening his lips with his tongue and looking at Max. "Oy, guv', not t'be too much o'va botha, but could we please fin' a place ta rest fer a bit? Mah legs're gettin' sore from all da fightin' we've been doin'..."

Max looked at his friend and partner in crime. "Of course we can. We're right by Simpleton, I'm sure we can rest up there."

"Alright alright..." King Trode said. He knew that despite being king and having Max's full respect and loyalty as such, he was a no body to Yangus. Yangus only followed orders from Max, the man who both saved his life, and turned him away from a life of crime. Even if he wasn't cursed to look like a midget goblin, the brute man would never obey him unless Max told him too. Who he was to Jessica, though, he wasn't sure. She seemed amicable enough for someone with a short fuse. She didn't seem to treat Trode with the respect of a king, however. No one but Max did. He had come to realize by now that he couldn't blame him. If his daughter Medea, who was now cursed into being his stead, had her fiancé appear and he was a frog, Trode would have him sent away. He was grateful the three of them even bothered to help, even though two of them were doing it for different reasons.

Max smiled, leading Yangus and Jessica into Simpleton. Trode had to stay outside with his horse daughter as is.

Simpleton seemed to be quite the simple town. It was in a small clearing, with a market place, an inn, living quarters, and a pub that overshadowed any of the other buildings. Jessica scowled.

"Do these people do nothing but drink?" She hissed. Jessica only knew fine wine, but even that she detested. So far she didn't like Simpleton.

"Sounds like a plan tah me!" Yangus said with a grin, rushing into the bar. Jessica expected Max to stop, or at least be a little more civilized, but he was charging in as well. She sighed, walking inside of the bar.

The bar was actually quite impressive. There were seventeen tables, each arranged erratically. Some were so close to other tables that they almost seemed like one table, while other tables were placed far away from each other. Men were seated together at the mushed together tables, laughing and cheering. Women sat in their cliques, chatting and gossiping over some beer. The stools at the far corner, seated right by the bartender, were filled with mix and matched people. Jessica saw a mother there, and she found herself filled with more disgust.

Yangus and Max grabbed a few cups of beer, and they sat themselves away from the partying men, but not really with the gossiping women. They weren't here to party or gossip; they were here to loosen up. They were seated next to a game of poker, used with real money, not those chips. Jessica sat with Max and Yangus, her back facing the game of poker. She wasn't sure how fast time had flown by, but it felt like only thirty seconds had passed before one of the gamers got angry.

"You little runt!" One of the players shouted. He stood up, and banged his fist on the table. Max, Yangus, and Jessica looked to the angry man, and they felt bad for his opponent. The angry man looked like he was born with natural strength, then he did a lot of working out. His arm alone looked like a thin tree trunk, meaning he could probably punch through the much smaller white-haired Templar.

Even so, the Templar wasn't alarmed. He had confidence, and he also knew that skill was just as important as brute strength. He didn't draw his Templars sword, though. He just watched the angry man in front of him.

Yangus, having had some beer to drink and was loosened up, calmly went over to the angry man and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy! No need to get excited! I know it 'urts when ya lose an' all, but..."

Yangus may have been able to get away with calming the man down, but the smug grin on the Templars face and the way he victoriously drank his wine fired up the man's blood, and he took Yangus's words the wrong way.

"What!? ... Oh, I get!" He said.

Yangus smiled and nodded, thinking he had gotten through to the man, but he was surprised when the man punched him in the gut. Now, Yangus was born with a kind of strength and endurance that only happened every few centuries. So even this man, who was born with strength and then turned it up, paled in comparison to what the fat man Yangus could handle, so he only tumbled over, falling on a table and knocking it right on top of him, beer and all. The men sitting there got up quickly to get out of the way, because events like this usually led to nasty bar fights, and no one wanted to get in the way of the angry, muscular man.

"You're with him!" The man growled, pointing at the Templar. The Templar shrugged.

Yangus threw the table off of him, sending it flying across the room and onto one of the women's tables, causing it to be crushed. The women screamed, fleeing the scene. More and more people were desperate to get out of the bar. Yangus marched right up to the muscular man, pointing his finger at him and glaring angrily.

"Oy! You wanna watch it! Don't go throwing accusations about! You don't wanna get on my wrong side!" Yangus growled. They glared at each other, trying to intimidate the other, until Jessica threw water on them.

"Take it easy you guys!" Jessica said. "What are you two, a couple of cavemen?"

The man had two henchmen, who both really didn't think things through. All they really knew what was good for their boss, and they knew this lady wasn't being of much help. They marched right up to her, one on one side of her, one on the other.

"What are you doing?!" One of the henchmen hissed.

"Think you can get away with that just cos you're a lady?"

The Templar stood up, glaring at the two henchmen. They were too preoccupied with Jessica to notice his glare. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to defend her should the henchmen decide to attack her, but he heard Yangus picking up a table. He put his sword back, narrowly dodging the thrown table. Jessica managed to evade it, but the henchmen were crushed underneath it.

"Wot's wiv you two, eh!? Two blokes gangin' up one bird! Behave!" He said, holding a chair above his head. One of the few people who stayed to watch the fight cheered him on for defending Jessica, and Yangus turned to give him the thumbs up. Needless to say, though, the man was not happy.

"That's it, you oaf! Those are my mates!" The man howled. He charged at Yangus, but he threw the chair in his face, causing him to fall down. One of the henchmen had gotten up, and tried to attack Jessica, but she just moved to the side and he fell on the table, making it fall over him. Max and the Templar stood to the sides, watching the fight as it went on without getting involved. Things were being thrown around; tables, chairs, silverware, beer, sometimes even one of the henchmen went flying.

After a short while, the fight had really become just between Yangus and the man, and it was really just a fist fight. Jessica became so aggravated that they were being such cavemen that she started charging up a fire spell.

"Let's get out of here," the Templar whispered to Max. Max nodded in agreement and followed him to the back door. Max thought it would just be him and the Templar, but on the way the Templar grabbed Jessica's upper arm, pulling her away from the fighting. She stayed her spell, and she was practically dragged out of the bar.

Once the Templar had dragged Jessica out of the bar, she yanked her arm out of his hand. He shrugged, not really looking at her.

"So who are you? You don't look like Simpletons to me," the Templar said. Outside of context, it would have sounded slightly weird, but as the town they were in is named Simpleton, it made sense. He shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway, I owe you one. Thanks to you, I managed to pull that little caper off without being caught." He extended his hand, and Max uneasily shook it. He wasn't for encouraging cheating, but there wasn't much he could do now that the deed had been done. The Templar released his grip, and lifting his right arm and his cape. Cards quickly fell out. "He was such an easy mark I got a bit carried away." He grinned smugly. His grin faded upon hearing some glass shattering. He put his arm down, and he put an arm on Max's shoulder. "Still, can't hang around. Don't want to cause any more trouble."

The Templar turned to Jessica, wanting to say something, but he completely forgot his words. He couldn't help but notice her features. She was clearly a noble. The way she dressed in that purple shirt, red skirt and mimicry of a corset told him so. Most women couldn't afford the fabrics she wore. Being the pervert he was, he also noticed the size of her breasts, which was much larger than even the waitresses in the bars. He eyed her curves, which she was not appreciative of.

"What?" Jessica hissed at him.

"I hope you weren't hurt by my little jape. Are you alright?" He asked softly, this time looking into her ruby eyes.

Jessica took a guess as to what he was up to, based on the way he was ogling her just a few moments ago. "You're out of luck! I'm fine! Apart from you leering at me!"

The Templar smiled at him, pulling his glove off with his mouth and speaking through it. "By way of thanks for helping me, and as a memento of our… 'encounter'…" He removed his ring off his pointer finger, placing his glove between his belt. He took Jessica's hand in his, placing the ring in the palm of her hand. Jessica scowled harshly at him. "The name's Angelo. I live at Maella Abbey."

Jessica yanked her hand away from him, holding his ring in her palm. He grinned at her. "Show them that ring if you'd like to see me. I'll be expecting you! Au revoir, for now! Maella Abbey, all right? Just ask for Angelo! Don't forget!" He dashed off, not giving either of them a chance to respond to him.

Jessica glared at the ring in disgust, as if it were the cause of plague. She wanted to throw it away, but she decided she would do something else with it.

"Oh, 'ere you are, guv! I been lookin' all over for ya!" Yangus shouted. He walked up to them with a victorious grin. They turned to him, surprised to find only bruises and mild amounts of blood. They expected broken bones and lost teeth, but that wasn't the case. "Gave that lot wot for!" He started snickering at the memory of taking down that man with hardly any damage. Jessica sighed, changing the subject.

"I am not keeping this ring. We're going back to Maella Abbey right now to give it back to that smarmy cheat. Whether he likes it or not!"


End file.
